Two Way Hard Three | Las Vegas Casino & Design Blog

July 30, 2009

Las Vegas Sands Posts Second Quarter Loss

Posted by Hunter

Las Vegas Sands, operator of The Venetian and The Palazzo in Las Vegas and several casinos in Macau, posted a loss of $171 million for the second quarter of 2009.

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=185629&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1314517&highlight=

Looking at the details, they had two large one-time charges and without those, they'd have swung to a $22 million profit. Those charges include a non-cash impairment related to the shopping complex at The Palazzo, worth substantially less than originally thought.

LVS, which is building a new property in Singapore, believes it can realize $500 million in annualized efficiencies through cost cutting. They're not all that specific about what they want to do but that's a big number... I'm sure you intrepid readers could suggest a few things they could cut back on, no?


Categories: Business of Gaming, Las Vegas Strip, Macau Casinos and Hotels, Palazzo, Venetian/LV Sands
Tags: lasvegas, lasvegassands, palazzo, vegas, venetian


Comments

Read archived comments (8 so far)
July 30, 2009 2:11 PM Posted by Brian Fey

OMG! I can't beleive Sheldon just cracked a joke, that they were "cookin the books" Nice.

July 30, 2009 2:36 PM Posted by Brian Fey

Maybe those morons should turn off their 2G cell phones, so we can hear the call.

July 31, 2009 5:06 AM Posted by detroit1051

Transcript of LVS Call is here. Strange that Wynn's is not online yet.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/152706-las-vegas-sands-corp-q2-2009-earnings-call-transcript?page=-1

July 31, 2009 7:18 AM Posted by jay smith

I listened to this CC and sheldon Adelson exposed himself to be very outdated, and also showing he took on way more than he and his company can chew on. The Bethlaham project is a disaster, its the 5th busiest in Pennyslvania and yet the newest one there. No one from NY is going there. They go to the Borgata in AC. The singapore project wont be first to open as is Genting is and this will crush LVS and their market share. I like WYNN and MGM as in investor. Sheldon is so stupid he even cracked a "cooking the books joke" thats something NO CEO does, especially on a CC. what a YO YO!!!

August 1, 2009 6:50 AM Posted by Brian Fey

I honeslty can't recall who can take credit for the name Wyncore. I'm guessing Hunter or Mike came up with that. But I was talking on another board today about Palazzo/Venetian, and decided that MegaPlex or whatever Sheldon calls it, sucks, we need another name we can trademark here at RateVegas, Venlazzo, or Venazzo, Palnetian maybe, anyone have any suggestions? :)

August 1, 2009 6:34 PM Posted by PeterF

I don't think it will matter much if Genting opens first in Singapore. They are in very different locations and could attract different customers. Genting's resort is out on Sentosa and should be very popular as a place to stay for people before and after cruises. There are a lot of family attractions on Sentosa (as well as a beach with a horrible view) so the Genting resort might be popular with families as well. The Marina Sands is more central to the financial district and popular evening dining areas. It will be interesting to see how it plays out there between the two resorts.

August 3, 2009 4:13 PM Posted by David McKee

Genting's being first to open matters *if* you sign up for a year's admission to the casino (a substantially better value than paying by the visit). Once you do that, you can't sign up with the rival casino. So the more one-year admissions Genting sells, the worse it will be for Sands. Letting Sentosa Island get ahead of Marina Bay Sands (which had several months' lead time) looks like it will be a costly mistake.

August 3, 2009 11:04 PM Posted by PeterF

That entrance fee only applies to Singapore residents. Singapore has passed legislation to discourage residents from spending much time in casinos, the entrance fee included. How much do Las Vegas residents contribute to the bottom line of Las Vegas casinos (not a great comparison since there are so many Vegas casinos)? How much do Macau residents contribute to the bottom line of Macau casinos (maybe a better comparison)? I don't know the answer to either question so I am curious as to what the answers are.

I think analysts might be putting too much stock into the yearly entrance fees. It is possible that Singapore residents will view the casinos as a place to go for a special occasion and not much more. The other attractions and the restaurants could be much more popular with residents. The people love to hang out and eat when not working.

The casinos will probably be popular with the people that have a second home in Singapore and stay there a few months a year. Popular with the well to do Asians, Indians, and Australians that like to visit for the food, clubs, and atmosphere. Popular with the people stopping over in Singapore on trips between Australia and Europe (and England). Popular with people on business trips to Singapore. Sentosa will probably be popular with all the middle class Asians and Indians on family holidays plus a great place to stay before or after a cruise. None of these people have to pay the admission fee.

Genting (Sentosa) will get the business since it will be first. But once Marina Bay Sands opens business from non-Singaporeans (a lot of well to do people) will start to split based on location. For people not staying at Sentosa it will be a shorter subway or taxi ride to Marina Bay Sands. I know the next time I go to Singapore I will try to visit the Genting resort once so I can see it, but I'll be at Marina Bay Sands much more often.

Of course I can be completely wrong. It's going to be incredibly interesting to see how it all plays out in such a controlled environment that is Singapore.